A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – US stocks have closed a choppy week on a down note, following European markets lower on fears of a Greek debt default.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 140.53 points (0.78 per cent) to 17,898.84 on Friday.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 14.75 points (0.70 per cent) at 2,094.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 31.41 points (0.62 per cent) to 5,051.10.
European equity markets tumbled as eurozone officials confirmed that at a meeting in Bratislava on Thursday they had war-gamed “worst case” scenarios of Greece not being able to pay its bills.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, said the latest headlines on the breakdown in talks between Greece and creditors are “very negative,” while adding: “It goes back and forth and is basically an excuse for the market.”
Cardillo said there are other factors behind the pullback in US equities, including next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting that will update the Fed’s plan to hike interest rates in the coming months.
Petroleum stocks dropped on lower oil prices. Dow members Chevron and ExxonMobil fell by 1.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, while offshore driller Transocean lost 2.0 per cent.
Pharmaceuticals were also weak. Merck lost 1.8 per cent, while biotech companies Amgen and Biogen both fell 1.2 per cent.
In the tech sector, Intel lost 1.7 per cent and Apple and Cisco Systems both fell 1.1 per cent. All three companies are in the Dow.
LONDON – Europe’s main stock markets have sunk as eurozone officials reportedly discussed a “worst case” scenario of a Greek default, the day after key creditor IMF said they were far off reaching a deal.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies closed down 0.90 per cent at 6,784.92 points on Friday.
In the eurozone, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1.41 per cent to end the day at 4,901.19 points, and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dropped 1.20 per cent to 11,196.49 points.
Athens’ main index plunged 5.92 per cent to 774.16 points, giving up most of its optimistic eight per cent surge the day before.
In Brussels eurozone officials told AFP that at a meeting in Bratislava on Thursday they had war-gamed “worst case” scenarios of Greece not being able to pay its bills.
“In discussions, a default was mentioned as one of the scenarios that can happen when everything goes wrong,” said one official on condition of anonymity.
“Time is running out for Greece. To clinch a deal at the 18 June Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers in time for the 30 June expiry of the current bailout deal, the Greek government has to shift its position very soon, that is within about three days,” said analyst Holger Schmieding at Berenberg.
And after the markets closed, the Greek government issued a statement saying it would make “counter-proposals” on a deal to unlock much-needed bailout funds in Brussels on Saturday.
HONG KONG – The euro retreated in Asia on concerns about Greece’s bailout reform talks after the IMF walked out, while Japanese stocks ended higher thanks to a pick-up in the dollar against the yen.
Regional investors were given another positive lead from Wall Street following a better-than-forecast US retail sales report.
Tokyo climbed 0.12 per cent, or 24.11 points, to 20,407.08, although the gains were capped by worries about the Greece talks.
Hong Kong rose 1.39 per cent, or 372.69 points, to close at 27,280.54 and Shanghai added 0.87 per cent, or 44.76 points, to 5,166.35.
WELLINGTON – The New Zealand sharemarket has closed lower, after offshore investors sold blue chip equities such as Spark New Zealand and Fletcher Building.
The NZX 50 Index dropped 11.445 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5846.968 on Friday.
